IFARA spoke with two of the doctors involved in studying a young child who was infected with HIV at birth, was put on a three-drug antiretroviral regimen very quickly and whose viral load is now undetectable, even though she is no longer on treatment. Panelists discussed the possible reasons for this apparent remission of the virus, its potential to inform HIV cure research and its implications for treatment standards, at least in infants. Other cases mentioned included a different infant who was started on treatment within hours of birth and an adult who started treatment very soon after infection. Both appear to be clearing the virus rapidly, although they are still on treatment. The panelists, however, cautioned that while this research appears promising, prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission is still far better than treatment of the infected newborn.

Hannah Gay, M.D., pediatric HIV specialist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center

The video above has been posted on TheBodyPRO.com with permission from our partners at the International Foundation for Alternative Research in AIDS (IFARA). Visit IFARA's website or YouTube channel to watch more video interviews from the conference, as well as earlier meetings.

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